Interstate 49 in Arkansas

Interstate 49
Open sections of I-49 in red as of June 2015
Route information
Existed:	March 28, 2014 – present
Southern Arkansas segment
South end:	I-49 at the Louisiana state line
Major junctions:	AR 151 in Texarkana I-30 in Texarkana
North end:	US 71 / US 59 in Texarkana
Northern Arkansas segment
South end:	I-40 / US 71 in Alma
Major junctions:	US 62 in Fayetteville US 412 in Springdale US 62 in Rogers
North end:	US 71 near Bella Vista
Fort Smith Area segment
South end:	US 71
North end:	AR 22 / AR 255 in Barling, AR
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Arkansas Highway System Interstate US State Business Spurs Scenic Heritage Trails ← AR 48 US 49 →

Interstate 49 (I-49) is an Interstate Highway in the state of Arkansas. There are two main sections of the highway, split by construction. The northern section begins at I-40 and at U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) in Alma, Arkansas and runs north to Bella Vista, Arkansas, where the freeway terminates, awaiting completion of the Bella Vista Bypass. The second, southern section starts at the Louisiana state line, then runs to Texarkana, at the Texas state line.

Route description

What is now I-49 north of the US 71 junction

The route begins at the Louisiana state line. Then, from the US 71 interchange in Doddridge, Arkansas, I-49 follows former Highway 549 up to I-30 in Texarkana, then heads west and passes the Texas state line by a few hundred feet.

The interstate begins again at exit 12 along I-40, one mile (1.6 km) west of Alma, Arkansas, continuing for over 65 miles (105 km) through the Crawford, Washington, and Benton counties. Just north of the Crawford-Washington county line is the Bobby Hopper Tunnel which is the only large highway tunnel in Arkansas. Notable cities along the route are Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. From I-40 north to Fayetteville, I-49 runs roughly parallel to Highway 71. Just south of Fayetteville, I-49 combines with Highways 71 and 62, forming the major expressway through the northwest Arkansas metro area. I-49 ends where the expressway also ends, just north of Bentonville, where it becomes US 71 and the main street of Bella Vista, Bella Vista Way.

History

The first portion of I-49 was completed in the late 1990s and was opened to Mountainburg, Arkansas as AR 540. On January 8, 1999, the road was fully opened to traffic and was re-designated I-540 and also was designated as "John Paul Hammerschmidt Highway" in honor of a former U.S. Representative from Arkansas.^[1] Having been planned since the early 1970s, it created a bypass for the older US Highway 71.

Two bridges carry I-49 over a valley in the Boston Mountains

The state of Arkansas originally asked AASHTO to allow the interstate segment between Fort Smith and Bentonville to be named I-49, to emphasize plans to extend the route from Shreveport, Louisiana through Arkansas to Kansas City, Missouri.^[2] AASHTO refused, and the route opened in 1999 as a northern extension of I-540.^[2] AHTD conducted a feasibility study of adding an interchange at Highway 162 in Van Buren in 1991, with the results adopted by the Arkansas State Highway Commission in 1992.^[2] The Arkansas State Highway Commission (ASHC) studied a designation for I-540 between Mountainburg and Fayetteville as an Arkansas Scenic Byway in a meeting on November 17, 1998. One of the requirements of designation is "an active organization composed of various private and governmental groups, businesses, and agencies who are interested in preservation, enhancement, marketing, and development of the route’s scenic, cultural, recreational, and historic qualities,". The ASHC deemed that since the highway was a new location route, it did not have sufficient businesses to satisfy the requirement, so the ASHC deemed itself a partner organization and proceeded with a designation study.^[3] The route was added to the scenic byway system the following year.^[4]

As of June 2014, Interstate 540 is now Interstate 49 between I-40 in Alma and US-71B in Bentonville just south of the Missouri border.

The plan for I-49 became official on December 12, 2012. It was decided that it would follow Arkansas Highway 549 as the latter route was being eliminated. The north extension from I-30 to US 71 / US 59 was finished on May 15, 2013. The route to the Louisiana border was completed and opened on November 10, 2014.

Future

I-49 in Northwest Arkansas

Eventually, I-49 will cross the entire state. It will cross into Texas for about 5 to 10 miles (8.0 to 16.1 km) and then cross over a currently unbuilt bridge across the Red River into Arkansas. It will eventually reach De Queen, Arkansas in the near future. It will then run near the western border of the state from De Queen to Fort Smith. A bypass of Bella Vista will connect the longest stretch of I-49 to Arkansas Highway 549 as well as to the completed road in Missouri.

Note

Arkansas 549 between US-71 in Fort Smith and AR-22/AR-255 in Barling has closures due to exercise training alerts announced on 40/29 News and from AHTD news release.

Exit list

State	County	Location	mi	km	Exit[5][6]	Destinations	Notes
Arkansas	Miller		0.00	0.00		I-49 south – Shreveport	Louisiana state line
			4.32	6.95	4	US 71 – Doddridge
			7.01	11.28	6	CR 197
			16.46	26.49	16	US 71 – Fouke
			18.17	29.24	18	North Fouke Road
		Ferguson	23.77	38.25	24	CR 10 – Ferguson
			26.35	42.41	26	AR 237
		Texarkana	28.87	46.46	29A	US 71 – Texarkana	Signed as exit 29 southbound
			29.49	47.46	29B	To US 59 (via AR 151 south) – Dallas, Houston	No exit number southbound
					31	AR 196 (Genoa Road)
					32	US 82 (9th Street) / 19th Street
						US 67 – Texarkana, Airport	Former interchange
					35	Four States Fair Parkway / Arkansas Boulevard	Former AR 245 north
					37	I-30 – Texarkana, Dallas, Hope, Little Rock	Signed as exits 37A (east) and 37B (west); I-30 exit 3
					41	Sanderson Lane
					42	US 71 (US 59) – Texarkana, Ashdown, Fort Smith	Temporary north end; exit number not signed
Texas	Bowie				44	I-369 south – Houston	Proposed
					46	CR 2320 (Hush Puppy Road)	Proposed
Red River					Bridge over Texas-Arkansas line
Arkansas	Little River				51	CR 23	Proposed
					55	AR 32B – Ashdown	Proposed
					57	AR 108	Proposed
		Wilton			60	AR 234 – Wilton	Proposed
	Sevier				84	US 59 / US 70 / US 71 / US 371 – De Queen	Proposed
					93	CR 41 (Tower Road) – Gillham	Proposed
	Polk	Grannis			98	CR 3 – Grannis	Proposed
					102	US 278 – Wickes	Proposed
					108	AR 246 – Vandervoort	Proposed
					121	Mena	Proposed
					126	AR 88 – Mena	Proposed
					132	CR 70	Proposed
	Scott				143	US 71 / US 270	Proposed
					157	AR 80 – Waldron	Proposed
					160	AR 28	Proposed
					165	AR 378	Proposed
		Mansfield			171	US 71 – Mansfield	Proposed
	Sebastian				175	US 71 – Huntington	Proposed
					183	AR 10 – Greenwood	Proposed
					187	US 71 – Fort Smith	Opened on July 14, 2015;[7] Temporary south end of AR 549
		Fort Smith			190	Massard Road	Opened on July 14, 2015[7]
					191	Roberts Boulevard	Opened on July 14, 2015[7]
		Barling			193	AR 22 (Fort St) – Barling	Opened on July 14, 2015;[7] Temporary north end of AR 549
	Arkansas River				Bridge
	Crawford				196	To AR 59 / Gun Club Road	Proposed
					202	Clear Creek Road – Kibler	Proposed
					204	AR 162 – Alma	Proposed
			19.23	30.95	20	I-40 (US 71) – Van Buren, Fort Smith, Alma, Little Rock	Temporary southern end; I-40 exit 12
		Alma	20.31	32.69	21	Collum Lane
			23.67	38.09	24	AR 282 – Rudy
			29.10	46.83	29	AR 282 – Mountainburg
			33.53	53.96	34	AR 282 – Chester
	Washington		41.14– 41.44	66.21– 66.69	Bobby Hopper Tunnel
			44.99	72.40	45	AR 74 – Winslow
		West Fork	52.78	84.94	53	AR 170 – West Fork
		Greenland	57.88	93.15	58	Greenland
		Fayetteville	60.50	97.37	60	AR 112 (Razorback Road) / AR 265 (Cato Springs Road)
			61.98	99.75	61	US 71 south – Fayetteville	Southern end of US 71 concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance
			61.98	99.75	62	US 62 west / AR 180 east (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard / AR 16 east)	Southern end of US 62 / AR 16 concurrency
			63.79	102.66	64	AR 16 west / AR 112S east (Wedington Drive)	Northern end of AR 16 concurrency
					65	Porter Road
			66.01	106.23	66	AR 112 (Garland Avenue) – University of Arkansas
			66.48	106.99	67	US 71B – Fayetteville Business District
		Johnson	68.93	110.93	69	Johnson Mill Boulevard
		Springdale			70	Don Tyson Parkway	Opened July 7, 2014[8]
			71.50	115.07	72	US 412 (Sunset Avenue)
			72.91	117.34	73	Elm Springs Road
	Benton				76	Wagon Wheel Road
					77	US 412 (Springdale Northern Bypass)	Construction started on April 15, 2015
		Lowell			78	AR 264 (West Monroe Avenue) – Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport
		Rogers			81	Pleasant Grove Road
					82	Promenade Boulevard/West Pauline Whittaker Parkway
					82-83	South Belleview Road	proposed
					83	Pinnacle Hills Parkway/West New Hope Road
		Rogers–Bentonville			85	US 71B / AR 12 west (Southeast Walton Boulevard / West Walnut Street) – Airport	Southern end of AR 12 concurrency
		Bentonville			86	US 62 east / AR 12 east / AR 102 west (Southeast 14th Street / Hudson Road)	Northern end of US 62 / AR 12 concurrency
					87	8th Street	Proposed
					88	AR 72 east (Central Avenue)
					93	US 71B south (North Walton Boulevard)	Temporary northern end; northbound continuation to County Road 34/Rocky Dell Hollow Road scheduled to open in 2016 or 2018
						Peach Orchard Road	Construction started on June 12, 2015;[9] scheduled to open in 2016 or 2018
		Gap in route
						Pumpkin Hollow Road	Construction started on June 12, 2015;[10] scheduled to open in 2016 or 2018
		Gap in route
					284	AR 72	Temporary southern end of AR 549; exit number not signed; southbound exit and northbound entrance; southbound continuation to Bentonville scheduled to open in 2016 or 2018
				287	AR 72	Former temporary northern end; exit number not signed
				289	CR 34 (Rocky Dell Hollow Road)	Temporary northern end of AR 549; exit number not signed; northbound exit and southbound entrance
Gap in route
				I-49 north – Joplin	Missouri state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

See also

• Boston Mountains Scenic Loop
• Bella Vista Bypass

References

1. Gerhardt, Kara (January 8, 1999). "Secretary Slater Joins in Dedication of Final Segment of Arkansas’ I-540" (Press release). United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 2, 2009 – via The Crittenden Automotive Library.
2. Arkansas State Highway Commission (January 22, 1991). "Minutes of the Meeting" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. pp. 199, 868. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
3. Arkansas State Highway Commission (November 17, 1998). "Minutes of the Meeting" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. p. 1205. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
4. Arkansas State Highway Commission (November 17, 1999). "Minutes of the Meeting" (PDF). Little Rock: Arkansas State Highway Commission. p. 1411. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
5. Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Planning and Research Division (2014). State Highway Map (Map) (2014–15 ed.). Little Rock: Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. §§ A2–D2, H2–J2.
6. Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (n.d.). Map of Proposed I-49 (Map). Little Rock: Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. Sheets 1, 2, and 3 (PDF). Retrieved January 23, 2015.
7. Johnson, Kelly (July 14, 2015). "New Section of I-49 Opened". Fort Smith, AR: KHBS-TV. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
8. Caraway, Steve (July 3, 2014). "Springdale's Tyson Interchange to Open Month Early: Work Will Create Easy Access to Ballpark Development Area". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
9. "I-49 Work to Shut Lanes over 2 Nights". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Little Rock.
10. "Work to shut I-49, Punkin Hollow lanes in Benton County". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to Interstate 49 in Arkansas at Wikimedia Commons